Mary Reres, Ed. D., a leading authority in nursing education and health administration, died on Dec. 17 at her home in Malibu following a long bout with cancer. Reres was the former dean of the UCLA School of Nursing and a member of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Board of Directors. She also held key leadership positions in several nursing and medical organizations.
Reres was widely known for her contributions and achievements in nursing education and public health, combining academic, administrative and clinical experience. She was the author of several books and numerous professional articles on nursing, public health policy and psychiatric nursing.
From 1977 to 1986, she served as dean of the UCLA School of Nursing.
During her tenure, the school dedicated its building and established its doctoral program. It also opened a nurse-managed clinic in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles. In addition, the school received its major endowment gift of $1.5 million, which currently funds $800,000 a year in scholarships and four endowed chairs.
As a member of the board of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, Reres chaired the Quality and Health Improvement Committee and was a member of the executive committee. In the last year, she also chaired the board’s new Community Benefit Committee. She remained active on the board to her last days, taking part in a meeting by telephone just a few days before she died. Reres is survived by her father, Mathew Reres; a brother, Matt Reres; four sisters, Norine Reres, Dorothy Buck, Catherine Kanelos and Mary Jo Wurtz; five nieces, one nephew, two great-nieces and one great-nephew.
The family asks that remembrances be sent to Creighton University or the ASPCA.
A funeral mass was celebrated Saturday at Our Lady of Malibu Church.